Physics

PSI scientists have developed a ground-breaking achromatic lens for X-rays. This allows the X-ray beams to be accurately focused on a single point even if they have different wavelengths. The new lens will make it much easier to study nanostructures using X-rays, according to a paper just published by the researchers in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

In evolution, the development of light-sensitive proteins was a momentous step: it’s only thanks to them that we can see. The large research facilities at PSI are helping scientists unravel the last major secrets concerning these extraordinary cellular components. The researchers have another goal as well: selectively switching processes in cells on and off with the help of light receptors.

Just as electrons flow through an electrical conductor, magnetic excitations can travel through certain materials. Such excitations, known in physics as "magnons" in analogy to the electron, could transport information much more easily than electrical conductors. An international research team has now made an important discovery on the road to such components, which could be highly energy-efficient and considerably smaller.

Scientists at EPFL’s Swiss Plasma Center and DeepMind have jointly developed a new method for controlling plasma configurations for use in nuclear fusion research.

At EPFL, a team of scientists created and observed a new physical phenomenon on an optical chip using modified lights.